Mr. Biden (for himself
and Mr. Lugar) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Foreign
Relations

June 2, 2008

Reported by Mr. Biden,
without amendment

A BILL

To authorize grants to the Eurasia
Foundation, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the
Eurasia Foundation
Act.

2.

Findings and
purposes

(a)

Findings

Congress
finds the following:

(1)

There has been
established in the District of Columbia a private, nonprofit corporation known
as the Eurasia Foundation (hereafter in this Act referred to as the
Foundation), which is not an agency or establishment of the
United States Government.

(2)

In recognition of
the valuable contributions of the Foundation to long-range United States
foreign policy interests, the United States Government has, through the United
States Agency for International Development and the Department of State,
provided financial support for the Foundation.

(3)

It is in the
interest of the United States, and the further strengthening of cooperation
with the countries of Eurasia, to establish a more permanent mechanism for
United States Government financial support for the ongoing activities of the
Foundation, while preserving the independent character of the
Foundation.

(b)

Purposes

The
purposes of the Foundation are to—

(1)

promote civil
society, private enterprise, and sound public administration and policy only in
the countries of Eurasia and in lending encouragement and assistance to
citizens of such countries in their own efforts to develop more open, just, and
democratic societies;

(2)

strengthen
indigenous institutions only in the countries of Eurasia in order to foster
national development, constructive social change, equitable economic growth,
and cooperative international relationships that are fully consistent with and
supportive of long-term United States interests with respect to the countries
of Eurasia; and

(3)

conduct programs in
response to initiatives in the countries of Eurasia that would be difficult or
impossible for an official United States entity, and, as a result of its
position in the countries of Eurasia, to respond quickly and flexibly to meet
new opportunities.

3.

Grants to the
Foundation

(a)

Grants
required

(1)

In
general

The Secretary of State shall award an annual grant to the
Foundation to enable the Foundation to carry out the purposes described in
section 2(b).

(2)

Additional
requirements

Each grant awarded under paragraph (1) shall—

(A)

consist of funds
specifically appropriated for grants to the Foundation; and

(B)

be contingent upon
a grant agreement between the Secretary and the Foundation that requires the
Foundation to—

(i)

only
use grant funds for activities that the Board of Directors of the Foundation
determines are consistent with the purposes described in section 2(b);
and

(ii)

otherwise comply
with the requirements of this Act.

(b)

Rule of
construction

Nothing in this Act may be construed to—

(1)

make the
Foundation an agency or establishment of the United States Government;
or

(2)

make the members
of the Board of Directors of the Foundation, or the officers or employees of
the Foundation, officers or employees of the United States.

(c)

Oversight

The
Foundation and its grantees shall be subject to the appropriate oversight
procedures of Congress.

(d)

Other
funding

The Foundation may accept funding from non-United States
Government sources to complement United States Government funding.

(e)

Sense of
Congress

It is the sense of
Congress that—

(1)

a
Foundation, funded for fiscal year 2009 at the levels authorized under section
7, and at appropriate levels in subsequent fiscal years, can contribute
significantly to the political, economic, and social development of democracy
and human rights in the countries of Eurasia;

(2)

notwithstanding
the Foundation’s distinguished record of performance, organizations that seek
competitive grants typically perform in a more transparent and effective
manner; and

(3)

to the maximum
extent possible, the Foundation should seek competitive grants to supplement
appropriations from the United States Government, and at least 20 percent of
the funding received in each fiscal year by the Foundation should be from
non-United States Government sources to ensure continued strong performance of
the Foundation.

4.

Eligibility of
the Foundation for grants

(a)

Funding for
covered programs only

The Foundation may provide funding only for
programs that are consistent with the purposes set forth in section
2(b).

(b)

Compensation for
officers and employees of the foundation

If an individual who is
an officer or employee of the United States Government serves as a member of
the Board of Directors or as an officer or employee of the Foundation, that
individual may not receive any compensation or travel expenses in connection
with service performed for the Foundation.

(c)

Prohibition
respecting financial matters

The Foundation shall not issue any
shares of stock or declare or pay any dividends. No part of the assets of the
Foundation shall inure to the benefit of any member of the Board of Directors
of the Foundation, any officer or employee of the Foundation, or any other
individual, except as salary or reasonable compensation for expenses incurred
in the performance of duties to the Foundation.

(d)

Audit of
accounts; reporting requirements

(1)

Audit of
accounts

The accounts of the Foundation shall be audited annually
in accordance with chapter 75 of title 31, United States Code.

(2)

Reporting
requirements

The report of each such independent audit shall be
included in the annual report required under subsection (g). The audit report
shall set forth the scope of the audit and include such statements as are
necessary to present fairly the Foundation’s assets and liabilities, surplus or
deficit, with an analysis of the changes therein during the year, supplemented
in reasonable detail by a statement of the Foundation’s income and expenses
during the year, and a statement of the application of funds, together with the
independent auditor’s opinion of those statements.

(e)

Audit of
financial transactions

(1)

Audit of
financial transactions

The Government Accountability Office may
audit the financial transactions of the Foundation for each fiscal year in
accordance with such principles, procedures, rules, and regulations as may be
prescribed by the Comptroller General of the United States.

(2)

Reporting
requirements

The Comptroller General of the United States shall
simultaneously submit, to the President, the Foundation, and the appropriate
congressional committees, a report regarding each audit described in paragraph
(1) that contains—

(A)

any comments and
information as the Comptroller General determines to be necessary to inform the
appropriate congressional committees of the financial operations and condition
of the Foundation; and

(B)

any
recommendations that the Comptroller General considers advisable.

(f)

Recordkeeping
requirements; audit and examination of books

(1)

Recordkeeping
requirements

The Foundation shall ensure that each recipient of
financial assistance provided through the Foundation under this Act maintains
such records as may be reasonably necessary to—

(A)

fully
disclose—

(i)

the
amount and the disposition by such recipient of the proceeds of such
assistance;

(ii)

the total cost
of the project or undertaking in connection with which such assistance is given
or used; and

(iii)

the amount and
nature of that portion of the cost of the project or undertaking supplied by
other sources; and

(B)

facilitate an
effective audit.

(2)

Audit and
examination of books

The Foundation shall ensure that the
Foundation, any of its duly authorized representatives, the Comptroller General
of the United States, and any duly authorized representative of the Comptroller
General has access to any books, documents, papers, and records of the
recipient that are pertinent to assistance provided through the Foundation
under this Act for the purpose of audit and examination.

(g)

Annual report;
testimony relating to report

(1)

Annual
report

(A)

In
general

Not later than June 30 of each year, the Foundation shall
submit an annual report for the preceding fiscal year to the President and to
the appropriate congressional committees.

(B)

Contents

The
report submitted under subparagraph (A)—

(i)

shall include a
comprehensive, detailed report of the Foundation’s operations, activities,
financial condition, and accomplishments under this Act;

(ii)

should include
any information regarding allegations or reports on the misuse of funds and how
such allegations or reports were addressed by the Foundation; and

(iii)

may include
such recommendations as the Foundation determines to be appropriate.

(2)

Testimony
relating to report

The Board members and officers of the
Foundation shall be available to testify before appropriate committees of the
Congress with respect to—

(A)

the report
required under paragraph (1);

(B)

the report of any
audit made by the Comptroller General of the United States pursuant to
subsection (e); or

(C)

any other matter
requested by any such committee.

(h)

Grantee;
conflict of interest

A member of the Board of Directors of the
Foundation who serves as a member of the board of directors or an officer of a
grantee of the Foundation—

(1)

may not receive
compensation for services provided to the grantee; and

(2)

shall be entitled
to reimbursement for travel and other expenses incurred by the member in
connection with the member’s other duties on behalf of such grantee.

5.

Agreement between
Foundation and successor or related entity to the U.S. Russia Investment
Fund

(a)

Agreement
required

The Foundation and
any successor or related entity to the U.S. Russia Investment Fund shall enter
into a memorandum of understanding for the purpose of—

(1)

coordinating activities carried out by the
Foundation and the successor or related entity; and

(2)

ensuring that the activities of 1 entity do
not duplicate the activities of the other entity.

(b)

Deadline

The
Foundation and the successor or related entity described in subsection (a)
shall enter into the memorandum of understanding described in subsection (a) by
not later than the later of—

(1)

90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, if the successor or related entity is
established on or before the date of the enactment of this Act; or

(2)

90 days after the
date on which the successor or related entity is established, if such entity is
established after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(c)

Submission to
Secretary of State and Congress

Not later than 30 days after the date on
which the parties enter into the memorandum of understanding described in
subsection (a), the Foundation and the successor or related entity described in
subsection (a) shall submit a copy of the memorandum of understanding described
in subsection (a) to the Secretary of State and to the appropriate
congressional committees.

(d)

Successor or
related entity to the U.S. Russia Investment Fund defined

In this
section, the terms successor or related entity to the U.S. Russia
Investment Fund and successor or related entity mean any
organization, corporation, limited-liability partnership, foundation, or other
corporate structure that receives any or all of the remaining funds of the U.S.
Russia Investment Fund after the liquidation of assets upon closure of the U.S.
Russia Investment Fund.

Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriation under subsection (a) are authorized to remain
available until the date that is 2 years after the last day of the fiscal year
for which the amount was appropriated.

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